Why Senate confirmation for state judicial nominees? Why not House? Or joint?
Numerous state legislatures in 2011 that have a version of merit selection (Arizona, Florida, Oklahoma) or have considered adopting merit selection (Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin) have put in...
View ArticleWhy Senate reconfirmation for incumbent state judges? Why not House? Or...
Several weeks ago I looked at the historical development of why some states have legislative involvement in judicial confirmation for their appellate courts and whether it was only the state’s senate...
View ArticleMaryland joins other states in considering ways to allow judicial...
Maryland’s legislature is just the latest (including Florida, Minnesota, and Tennessee) that may seek to use the state’s judicial disciplinary process to punish or remove judges from office not for...
View ArticleAdd Maryland to list of states considering public financing of judicial races
First it was Kentucky, Ohio, and Wisconsin considering public financing for judicial races. Then Pennsylvania. Somewhere in between I neglected to mention Maryland’s SB 181, an error I am now...
View ArticleMaryland: Punishing judges for their opinions via the Commission on Judicial...
The last several years have seen efforts to make use of the judicial disciplinary process to examine judicial opinions and punish judges for those opinions. The latest such effort is Maryland’s HB...
View ArticleMaryland Question 1 & Question 2: double-majorities required to pass, plus...
Voters in Maryland will once again be voting on whether to require certain judges in the state be attorneys. In 2010 voters amended the state constitution to require that Orphan’s Court (read: probate)...
View ArticleElection 2012: The winners and what their victories portend for 2013/2014
Maryland’s Question 1 & Question 2: Both approved These amendments required the Orphans’ Court (read: probate court) judges in Prince George’s & Baltimore Counties, respectively, to be...
View ArticleMaryland Legislative Year in Review: veterans courts, judicial...
New laws affecting the courts enacted by the Maryland legislature in 2012 include the following: HB 92 Clarifies the definition of “shielding” in provisions of law relating to the removal of...
View ArticleFirst, Maryland, then Connecticut, now Maine considered getting rid of...
Most states use multiple selection methods for their courts, with some judges appointed, others elected, etc. Three states in particular (Connecticut, Maryland, and now Maine) want to end partisan...
View ArticleEfforts to enact, modify, or end merit selection for judges: what is moving...
I’ve had several readers ask for a synopsis of what is gong on in states to enact, modify, or end merit selection in 2013. This post is intended to respond to those queries. The latest information can...
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